Anthropic's listing plans revive AI investor sentiment

Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closes up 2.82%

Nvidia up 2.39%, SK hynix ADR gains 4.09%

NASDAQ rises 0.83%; Tesla surges 5.21%

The Anthropic logo. [Reuters]
The Anthropic logo. [Reuters]

Major US semiconductor stocks — including Nvidia, AMD and Micron — all closed higher on Wall Street Monday as Anthropic's formal move toward an initial public offering revived investor sentiment that had been dampened by growing concerns over an AI bubble. The tech-heavy NASDAQ also gained more than 0.8%, with all three major US indexes finishing in positive territory.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 2.82% from the previous session, according to the New York Stock Exchange. Nvidia led the gains among chipmakers, climbing 2.39%, while AMD added 2.80%, Micron 2.98% and Broadcom 2.33%. SK hynix's American depositary receipts also advanced 4.09%.

Buoyed by the chip sector's strength, all three major Wall Street indexes closed higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 146.42 points, or 0.28%, to finish at 52,361.58. The S&P 500 rose 53.09 points, or 0.70%, to 7,676.77, while the NASDAQ Composite climbed 214.04 points, or 0.83%, to 26,169.38.

The day's rally was driven largely by Anthropic, the developer of the AI chatbot Claude, formally launching its IPO process.

Anthropic filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, kicking off its path to a public listing. The company is reportedly targeting a valuation of up to $2 trillion and aims to raise as much as $100 billion through the offering — which, if completed as planned, would be the largest IPO in US stock market history.

Anthropic's pursuit of a listing is being closely watched as a test of the AI bubble narrative that has weighed on Wall Street in recent months. Concerns have spread in the market that while big tech companies are pouring enormous sums into AI infrastructure, the pace of actual revenue generation has fallen short of expectations.

But the financial details disclosed in Anthropic's IPO filing eased those concerns, rekindling optimism about the profitability of the AI industry.

Gil Luria, head of technology research at DA Davidson, called Anthropic "a highly profitable company." He highlighted in particular that Anthropic holds approximately $113 billion in cash and cash equivalents, noting that the IPO is being pursued from a position of ample liquidity rather than financial necessity.

Analysts at investment bank Raymond James also said Anthropic's disclosures "supported a positive outlook for AI infrastructure investment."

Among individual stocks, Tesla stood out with a 5.21% surge, hitting its highest level in roughly three months. The jump came after Barclays raised its investment rating on the stock and as speculation grew over a potential merger or acquisition involving SpaceX, the space company led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, bucked the trend and fell 1.88%. The company said it plans to raise up to $9.5 billion to fund its AI investment push.

Brazil's presidential election results also moved some stocks. After left-leaning President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the runoff vote held Monday, EWZ — an ETF linked to Brazilian equities — tumbled 19.82%.

Markets are now focused on a slate of major big tech earnings reports and a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision due this week.

Results from Alphabet and Microsoft, among others, are expected to shed light on whether expanded AI investment is translating into actual sales and profit growth. With the Federal Open Market Committee also set to announce its benchmark interest rate decision, the potential for heightened volatility — particularly in technology stocks — remains.


sjy@heraldcorp.com